I've read probably a hundred different articles and posts about chopping tops. I'm planning on chopping the top on my 54 chev. (someday). What I don't understand is, in all of these articles, they tell you how to do the chop, but what about the glass. Sure my side glass is flat, and I plan on using an early 50's chev. backlight, But what do you do with the windshield? If you angle the A-pillars, it won't fit anymore. Will it? I read an article once that said the best way is to get two tops and cut them into 4 pieces, off-center. Then use the four big pieces for your top. Reason being, as you chop the top, the roof gets shorter and narrower. So, this makes sense to me. You could use the stock windshield and just cut how-ever much you don't need right off of the top and BINGO. Can someone please show me the light?!!
Thats how mine was done. We chopped my 53 5" and i bought a new windshield for it, and gave the new glass and a template i made to a local guy who has experience chopping laminated glass.. He was able to do mine the first time without breaking it and it worked out great.. But, there IS a possibility of breaking the glass anytime you attempt to have it cut. I had three extra original windshields here just in case.
Have you got any pics. I'd love to see 'em. Did you slant the B-pillars too. I've noticed that that is pretty much the norm. I'm not sure if I like it. But, then again, I don't know if I've ever seen a chopped sedan with straight B-pillars. I've heard about cutting laminated glass. Something about cutting both sides and using lighter fluid to burn/ melt the plastic.
I did slant the pillars on mine. I like them both way's. We have a freind with a chopped 49 chevy and his are straight.. Looks just right on his ride. Mine, i wanted a 'sleak' look to it, and i think that the canted B pillars add a lot of flow to the chop.. Only my oppinion though.. Here's a shot of mine. I honestly don't know how the hell the guy cut mine. But i do know it was in one piece and didnt crack. He still has the other 5" from mine at his shop. The guy's GOOD!!!!!!
I just searched everything on my pc and have nothing. The only place i had a pic of it is on a now de-funct picture hosting site. It's been at the rockabilly rumble the past few years, so maybe someone who see's this might have a pics of it they could post.. Chopped, slammed, flat black, flamed and running 57 caddy caps with CrAzY bullets in the centers. I'll keep looking though, or try and axcess the site again but i've had no luck yet.. Boyd, i do have some more.. but i don't wanna post them on this thread and highjack, dig.. If you want i'll send you some, or do a search on me i've posted it probably too many time in the past
it matter who you talk to about chops,one being better than the other.some guys do it the way they was showed and thats the only way they will do it and will say the other way is wrong.both ways work fine as long as you do your home work.it is easier to line stuff up using 2 tops but just dropping it and pulling it forward gives you one bad ass look,if you go low.the glass is done a few different ways.cut it,lay it back,I've even seen one that they cut out the cowl,weld up a new sill to hold it and let a full size glass slide down into the body.that was on a latee model. My Lincoln's windshield is a full size windshield that was just laid back.on yours it will need to be cut.cut front and back then burn the plastic or use some good tape.lay your top piece of tape right on the line you need cut take a second piece of tape and lay it just below the first so that there is a 40 to 60 thousand's of and inch showing.double up on the tape and get out the sand blaster.go over the spot between the tape.it will take you some time and you will need to replace your tape often but some of the old timer swear this is the best way to do it.make sure you cover up all the glass real good you don't want the sand to hit,front and back it get all over the place.If you do not chop yours until spring,when the car shows start back up.I can get you a number to a guy that make them out of lexan.he has a chopped 46 ford that he put a one piece lexan windshield in that even had a nice somewhat pointed center where the chrome use to be.don't know how he did it but he did.I won't see him til this spring though.one last thing buy one of those new tripod mounted laser levels it makes it so much easier to get a perfect cutting line for the top.I know I'm gonna hear about the Lincoln being a 1979,give me a break it's my winter beater.
Hi wrenchbender Before we took the plunge on my sons '54, I looked at alot of chops and tried to figger out how they were done. A couple of things started to come to light. So I just thought I would give you a little more to think on. I think one of the biggest things about these chebbies is the difference between the sedans and the sport coupes, the windshield on the hardtops is about 2" shorter than the sedans. Back in the fifty's men wore hats, so they made more head room in the sedans. That is why the hardtops already looked chopped. It also leads to the reason sedans get chopped alot more. Now it just my opinion, but it seemed to me that if you got the side glass down to the right height, then the windshield was too low, and there was too much crown above the windshield. So when we tackled ours, we cut the top off about 2" above the glass. We chopped the windshield 3", and trimmed the top about 2" and slid the top under about another 1 1/2". This moved the top forward about 3-4 inches and down about 2", which made just the right angle for the "B" pillars. In the back we had cut out the whole backglass surround. That got laid forward and move up into the roof to get more of a coupe look and shorten the quarter windows. Then with that in place a filler panel was made between the backglass and the trunk. The package tray was'nt cut because that would have messed up the trunk hinges. Well, thats kind of the short version, but there a no cuts in the roof between the windshield and the backglass. Here's how it turned out.
Thanks. I used one top on mine and slid the roof forward using a ford back window. There are many way's to do it as you can see from just these few pics posted.. I like all of em!!
i dont have the windshield cut yet. but the glass man says its no prob to cut the top AND the sides to make it fit since we didnt add any width to the roof. hope i dont hafta go w/lexan....
There are many different ways to cut a Chevy top, and I don't think any one is right or wrong, but some are easier or more difficult. I cut mine away from the windshield frame, cut the windshield frame down 2" (leaving a slight gap in the middle that had to be filled), then worked the top skin flatter to make up the new width. This took a lot of welding (along the top of the windshield, along both sides just above the drip rails, and across just above the rear window). I used a '46-48 Chevy rear window, and made filler pieces of metal to fill in the wraparound portion. Windshield is cut 2" right off the top, rear window is completely stock '46-48 Chevy (just laid way down), and the side glass is new and had to be custom cut but only cost me $50 more than new stock glass would have. Doing it this way allowed me to keep everything (door posts, side glass, windshield posts) at the factory angles, and gave me maximum visibility because I'm 6'3" and a 5-inch chop looks good to me until I try to drive the car! It also allowed me to take a pie-shaped slice out of the roof skin to give it a much sleeker profile from the doorposts back. This is the best photo I have here. If you really want to see photos, send me an e-mail or personal message and I'll scan a couple in for you. I have "in-progress" shots that show all the cuts and welds.
bflochp, I saw your kids '54 at the Pile-up. Great looking car. I took quite a few close up pics of some of the different mods on it. Love the door lock idea. That's the first time I'd ever seen that. Pretty slick. Are those '55 bumpers? If so, how much trouble was that mod?
Thanks guy's.. i've posted a bunch of pics of the car as it progressed, and a few of it the way it is in that pic above..i don't have many as it sits now, maybe 4 or 5 and they have probably been posted.. The tech thread on the chop is in the 'tech archives' too.. You can probably do a search and find 'em all.. if you can't and still want to see something lemme know..
The front bumper is 56 chevy,(I liked the peak in the middle), and the back bumper is a 55 pontiac, love that bumper guard. It was'nt real bad, had to rebend the front mounts some. the back took some work making the splash pan look right. Hey thanks, and good luck on yours. buflochp
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